Ru–MnOx Interaction for Efficient Hydrodeoxygenation of Levulinic Acid and Its Derivatives

Metal–oxide interaction was widely observed in supported metal catalysts, playing a significant role in tuning the catalytic performance. Here, we reported that the interaction of Ru and MnOx was able to facilitate the hydrodeoxygenation of levulinic acid (LA) to 2-butanol with a high turnover frequency (1.99 × 106 h–1), turnover number (4411), and yield (98.8%). Moreover, this catalyst was capable of removing the hydroxymethyl group of lactones and diol with high yields of products. The high activity of the Ru–MnOx catalyst was due to the strong Ru–MnOx interaction, which facilitated reduction of Ru oxide to Ru0 and Mn oxide to Mn2+. The increased fractions of Ru0 and Mn2+ provided metal and Lewis acid sites, respectively, and therefore facilitated LA hydrodeoxygenation. A linear correlation between the hydrodeoxygenation activity of the Ru–MnOx catalyst and [Mn2+]ln([Ru0]) was observed.